The Ugly Duckling [Jinkook, Minjoon, Taegiseok]

29: Running Away

Ages at the moment:

Jin and Yoongi: 21

Hoseok: 20

Namjoon: 19

Jimin and Taehyung: 18

Jungkook: 16

~~~~~

Namjoon paced back and forth on the edge of the forest, next to the roads that connected the three kingdoms. He held tightly onto the straps of his back pack, more anxious than he's ever been.

What if Jimin decided not to go? If Jimin just didn't show up? They never set an exact time, so Namjoon had been in the same place all day, having packed lots of snacks in case Jimin showed up later in the day.

He ran out of snacks an hour ago.

The sun was closing in on the horizon.

"Namjoon?"

Namjoon turned around and ran to Jimin.

"You came!"

"Of course I came! I missed you," Jimin pouted. "Did you not think I would come?"

"Of course not! I was just getting worried because it's almost dark."

"Well I had to finish my daily chores first so no one would realize I'm missing," Jimin rolled his eyes. "What time did you get here? How long have you been waiting?"

"That's not important," Namjoon blushed, feeling stupid. Of course Jimin had to leave later in the day. It wouldn't be very easy for him to sneak out otherwise.

"Okay then, where are we going?" Jimin adjusted his backpack on his back to get more comfortable, because it was pretty heavy and bulky.

"So eager to leave before we've even properly greeted each other," Namjoon huffed.

"How are we supposed to greet each other then?"

"With a kiss."

"Oh."

Jimin blushed and walked closer to Namjoon, putting his arms around Namjoon's neck.

Namjoon put his hands on Jimin's waist, smiling smugly as he leaned in, pecking Jimin's lips.

"Hi."

"Hello," Jimin giggled.

"We should probably go now before it gets too dark."

"I can't believe we're actually doing this."

"Me neither. I've never been brave enough to really go against my parents to this extreme, but this is kind of exciting in a way. I feel like I'm finally making something of myself rather then being my parents' puppet," Namjoon smiled, picking up his backpack and starting to walk down the side of the road.

Jimin walked next to him, reaching out and holding his hand.

Namjoon smiled and squeezed Jimin's hand, holding it tighter.

"So where exsctly are we going? Have you been there before?" Jimin asked.

"I told you before. We are going to a nearby kingdom called China. I might have been there once as a small child, but I memorized the way there on the map so we should be fine."

"That doesn't sound very reassuring..."

"Of course it doesn't. We are taking a huge risk running away like this. But sometimes you need to take a big risk to get a big reward."

"You're so philosophical."

"Not really. I'm just being reckless."

"If you know you're being reckless, then why are you doing this?"

"Because I'm madly in love with you, and love makes you do crazy things."

Jimin became speechless. "Can you really love me that much already? We've only been together for around two years."

"But I knew you for years before that. And two years is plenty of time to fall in love anyway. Do you not love me the same?"

"No, I do! I just can't wrap my head around why someone like you would love someone like me..."

"You and your self doubt... Baby, you're beautiful, talented, and smart, and there's so much I love about you. But why do I even need a reason to love you? Can't I just love you blindly?"

"I suppose you could..."

"I don't need a reason to love you, Jimin. I'd do anything for you. And I love that I can say that freely and you wouldn't take advantage of me, but you really need to gain some confidence. When we get to China, I will introduce you as a wealthy council member rather than a servant. No one knows who you are here, so you can be whoever you want to be."

"I can't change who I am."

"Your social status can't change who you are either. Whether you are a servant or not, you're still Jimin. And if this all works out, you wouldn't be a servant anymore anyway. You'd be my queen."

"I know nothing about politics or running a kingdom..."

"But I do and that's enough. I don't expect you to help me right away. If you are interested, I can take the time to teach you, but I won't force you into anything you don't want to do."

"How do you even know this will work out the way you hope it will?"

"I don't. But knowing how many braincells my parents lack, I'm sure we can pull it off. Stop being so pessimistic,  it will make you unhappy, and it will jinx us."

"There's nothing wrong with being cautious."

"When have you ever been cautious?" Namjoon laughed.

"Oh, shut up," Jimin laughed. "I just... matured a little. I can be cautious now if I want to."

"Right."

"How much farther do we have to go?"

"We just started walking. At this pace we will make it there by sunrise."

"We have to walk all night? Why did I ever agree to this..."

~~~~~

Taehyung didn't notice Jimin's disappearance yet because he had spent the whole day with Yoongi.

And for the record, Taehyung was right. Yoongi's legs did look better on his shoulders.

But that's beside the point.

The point is Jimin had been gone a while day and no one noticed because everyone was busy preparing Taehyung and Yoongi for their honeymoon.

Hoseok was sent back to Busan to gather Yoongi's belongings while Taehyung packed his own clothes and toiletries. Yoongi had the privilege of laying in bed all day because Taehyung had picked up some skills in the bedroom very quickly and hadn't let Yoongi sleep all night.

At the end of the day, Taehyung and Yoongi got into a carriage to go to their honeymoon. Instead of regular seats, a bed had been placed on the floor of the carriage so they could comfortably sleep on the way there.

~~~~~

On the other hand in Seoul...

Jin noticed Namjoon's absence immediately.

"This isn't what I meant!" Jin wailed, clinging onto Jungkook, who was visiting that day. "I told him not to give up, but this is crazy! How could he be this stupid?!"

"Relax baby, I'm sure he has a plan."

"Who are you calling baby?!" Jin scoffed. "And who's side are you on?! You're supposed to be agreeing with me right now!"

"Namjoon is a smart guy," Jungkook shrugged. "I'm sure he wouldn't do something like this without a plan."

"Some plan! He thought about this for no more than two seconds! Do you know if his plan is fool-proof or not? No, because he didn't tell anyone about his plan! I'm just saying that he better send me a letter saying he is okay. Making me worry like this..."

"I can take your mind off of him..." Jungkook smirked.

"Don't even think about it."